Online Dating and STDs

Online Dating and STDs

Online Dating and STDs

Niche dating sites are growing in popularity, even those that help people with STDs find love.

As someone who has been lucky (and careful) enough to never contract a sexually transmitted disease, I can’t begin to imagine the difficulty of having the “STD” talk with a potential partner.

That’s why it would seem niche online dating sites for people with STDs would be a welcoming breath of fresh air.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year there are nearly 20 million new sexually transmitted infections in the United States.

So it makes total sense that sites like stdmatch.com, positivesingles.com, stdfriends.com and stdpassions.com exist.

As a member of the site, you’ve already eliminated the difficulty of having “that talk.”

A recent CNN article writes, “These sites immediately take several questions off the table. Members don't have to worry about when to tell other members they have herpes, since everyone in the group does. And they don't have to worry about spreading herpes, since the other members already have it.”

“However, some people are wary of the message STI dating websites could send,” explains an article in BBC News Magazine.

Herpes Viruses Association director Marian Nicholson said some of these sites might contribute to the negative stigma surrounding herpes.

Nicholson said some of these sites may be out of touch with the reality of living with conditions like herpes because the disease barely affects some people while others don't know they have it.

PositiveSingles.com is touted as the “#1 Community for STD Dating and Support.”

The site’s been featured on everything from MSN to Cosmopolitan to USA TODAY and promises a “warm-hearted and exclusive community for singles and friends with STDs.”

With more than 1,200 posts in the success stories section, there is little doubt this is a new way for STD-affected individuals to find love.

One member writes, “I joined PositiveSingles on June 10, 2012 and within a week Tom and I were talking on the phone. We met for the first time on June 24, 2012 and had dinner, took a walk and got to know each other. We have now been dating for seven months and couldn't be happier. Not only do we share a love of horses and animals in general but found we have quite a bit in common. If it had not been for PositiveSingles we would have never met.”

If you’re like Nicholson with the HVA or this woman who found love despite being infected with a sexually transmitted disease, you can’t argue these sites are bringing a lot of happiness to a lot of people. Keep Reading...